This invention relates to an enteric feeding tube, and more particularly to an enteric feeding tube having a weighted end and configured to facilitate the insertion, positioning, and retention of such a tube within the gastrointestinal tract.
The necessity to provide nutrition for comatose or otherwise debilitated patients has been addressed in various ways. The technique sometimes utilized has been intravenous feeding wherein the nutrients are directly conveyed into the bloodstream of the patient. Another way in which the problem of restoration and maintenance of fluid and nutritional balance is resolved is by means of intubation, wherein a tube is passed through the nasal passage and into the stomach of a patient, the tube having one or more apertures to permit the introduction of strained or comminuted foods which can be introduced in fluidized form. The intubation approach is often preferred since it permits the introduction of a sufficient number of calories and nutrients to properly utilize the protein, which is also introduced, for the healing of wounds and fractures, for hemoglobin formation, and for the formation of some enzymes and antibodies. When the intravenous approach is utilized it is oftentimes impossible to provide an adequate number of calories for proper utilization of the other nutrients, such as protein.
Among the problems faced in enteric intubation feeding are the insertion of the tube into the body, its proper positioning within the gastrointestinal tract of the patient, and its retention in the desired position. Although it is possible to utilize merely a tube having a plurality of spaced apertures through the side wall thereof, such a tube cannot easily be inserted and positioned within the patient's small intestine, if desired, because of the circuitous path it must traverse through the stomach, the duodenum, and beyond. One approach which has been utilized to permit the proper insertion and placement of the portion of the tube through which the nutrients are passed is the provision of a tube having a weighted end wherein the weighting medium is liquid mercury positioned in a bulb-like structure at the distal end of the tube. Mercury has the advantage of being a material having a relatively high specific gravity, thereby providing considerable weight for a relatively small volume. Additionally, since mercury is a liquid at the temperatures to which it is subjected in such applications, it also has the desirable property of flexibility, which facilitates its passage into and through the gastrointestinal system. However, the use of mercury carries with it several disadvantages, principally involving environmental and safety aspects in connection with the manufacture of such devices and their disposal by hospitals or other users, and also involving possible allergenic reactions. Although liquid mercury itself is not considered by some authorities to be toxic since it is not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, the handling of mercury by manufacturers of such tubes generally requires special facilities and handling, which add to the cost of such devices. Additionally, since such devices are normally intended for single use followed by disposal, the disposal of such devices by means of incineration could cause significant health hazards because of the formation upon incineration of mercury vapor, which is considered by some authorities to be toxic because of the fact that it can readily be absorbed. Thus it is desirable to provide a weighting medium which does not involve the handling problems or the disposal problems incident to the use of mercury.
Another prior art approach to weighting the end of an enteric feeding tube, and which does not involve the handling and disposal problem incident to the use of mercury, involves the use of several stainless steel spheres housed within a polyvinylchloride tubular member which has been shrunk over the spheres in such a way that the spheres be maintained in spaced relationship with each other and are incapable of relative movement within the tube. That combination and physical arrangement has been found to provide sufficient weight if the spheres are of a sufficiently large diameter, but its insertion and removal cause patient discomfort because of the sizes of the spheres and tubular member and because of the relatively inflexible tube such an arrangement provides.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems described above and to provide an improved enteric feeding tube in which the desirable end weighting characteristics are retained while at the same time avoiding the handling and disposal problems involved when mercury is the weighting medium.